Please turn that down!!
For those of you with teenagers or who remember your time with teenagers, you may have used this request.
Probably more than once…
The same may be true if you work in a noisy environment.
It is well known, that everyone has favorite music they love to listen to.
That’s true. The human being is deeply and intimately wired to respond to sound and music.
The thing is – every one of us is UNIQUELY wired to respond to sound and music.
The music you love to listen to, may not be the favorite choice of your teenager, your partner or co-workers.
If you work in ‘cubicle city,’ for example, this can show up as a serious problem for people who LOVE to work with music, or the radio, playing. And for those who CAN’T work with music or the radio playing.
Studies have shown that productivity can drop by as much as 60% in such situations.
That has serious consequences to a company’s bottom line – or to finishing a huge project on time – or to completing all the homework assigned.
If your favorite music helps you work more productively, that is great! You get more done in less time.
If you are working in a distracting environment, it can take you more than double the time to complete the work, compared with the ‘ideal’ working environment – for you.
Here are some of the negative effects of working in a distracting environment:
- Decreased productivity (recent research has documented beyond any doubt that a noisy office is the main cause of productivity loss in offices)
- Morale drops along with motivation
- Teamwork suffers- unwillingness to communicate and help
- There is an impact on your Health
And if you work in an environment with high noise:
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Gastric problems – ulcers
- Increased blood pressure
- Stress – excessive adrenalin and cortisol
- Hearing loss
Consequences in the workplace are:
- Up to 60% reduction in employee productivity – especially in cubicles
- Absenteeism, sick leave and stress leave
- Mistakes are more prevalent
- Irritability shows up particularly in communications
On the positive side, over the past 80 years, a great deal of research has been conducted by music therapists and by the Muzak Company about the benefits of certain types of music.
Here are some of the benefits claimed by the Muzak Company. This information comes from the book “Sound Business” by Julian Treasure.
Benefits claimed from Muzaks studies
- 29% decrease in nonessential conversation or activities among telephone company employees
- 32% decrease in lateness and absenteeism among the employees of a giant corporation
- 39% decrease in errors in the accounts payable section of a business office
- 8% increase in productivity, even after a bonus system had been installed, in a publishing company
- 19% increase in key punch productivity at an electric utility company with a corresponding decrease of 32% in errors.
- 53% decrease in airline agent turnover
- $8.4 million increase over expectations in bank earnings
- 25.5% better accuracy rate in editing
- 25% increase in enjoyment of the workplace
- 16% increase in problem solving abilities
That brings us to the healthiest sounds for the human being: water, birdsong and wind.
The low sounds of the water calm the nervous system, slows down your heartbeat lowering blood pressure, slows down your breathing and creates a shift in brainwave state to the alpha state.
A calming relaxation response.
In addition to the relaxation, the birdsong consists of high sounds and you never know when a bird is going to sing – totally unpredictable.
Your brain loves patterns and constantly looks for them. But the brain can’t find any patterns in birdsong.
The result is the brain becomes alert, focused and productive at the same time your body is relaxed.
This is a great sound to have in the background when you need to stay focused while you remain relaxed
There can also be tremendous benefits to having the right choice of music in a working environment.
About Sharon Carne:
Sharon Carne, BMus, M.F.A. is an author, speaker, musician, recording artist, sound healer, Reiki master and consultant. Sharon is the founder of Sound Wellness, whose programs are at the forefront of education in how sound and music can be easily applied to your everyday life – to reduce stress, help you concentrate, energize you, inspire you, support your health and so much more.
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